Andy Murray will meet fellow three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the French Open first round - the man whom the Briton played in his last match on the Paris clay in 2017.

Dan Evans - the nation's top-ranked man - meets Japan's Kei Nishikori.

However, British number two Kyle Edmund has pulled out with a knee injury.

Edmund's withdrawal means there will be six British players taking part in the singles, which starts at Roland Garros in Paris on Sunday.

The first-round matches in the men's and women's singles take place across the first three days.

The fortnight-long tournament is usually held at the end of May and the start of June but was postponed to this new date because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Poignant draw for old friends Murray and Wawrinka

Murray is back at Roland Garros for the first time since having two operations on a hip injury that almost ended his career.

Poignantly he has been drawn against Switzerland's Wawrinka, who is also a three-time major champion and has struggled with injuries in recent years.

The 33-year-old Scot's last match at Roland Garros was a five-set semi-final against Wawrinka, with Murray saying this week that it was that "brutal" match that "turned out to be the end" of his hip.

A resurfacing operation in January 2019 has resurrected Murray's career and he will be playing in his second Grand Slam singles event since the operation, having also competed at the US Open this month.

Murray and Wawrinka have already had chance to measure each other up after practising together on Court Philippe Chatrier this week.

What about the other Brits?

Konta, 29, reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year but may have been hoping for an easier opening opponent than 16-year-old Gauff.

Gauff has emerged as one of the most exciting talents on the tour following her runs to the Wimbledon and Australian Open fourth rounds - while she was still 15 - in the past 18 months.

However, this will be the American's first appearance in the French Open main draw and she has only one professional win on the surface so far.

Heather Watson is Britain's only other representative in the women's singles and the world number 56 has been drawn against France's Fiona Ferro in her opener.

Like Konta, Evans has been handed a tough task in the first round against Nishikori, a three-time French Open quarter-finalist and former world number four.

It was the worst possible draw for the 30-year-old in terms of ranking. Evans, yet to win a main-draw match at Roland Garros, is seeded 32nd and has been pitted against the player directly below him in the world rankings.

British number three Cameron Norrie will face a qualifier and that could yet end up being Liam Broady, who has reached the main draw for the first time.

Who are the other big names playing?

Spain's 12-time men's champion Rafael Nadal, bidding for a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam, plays world number 83 Egor Gerasimov on the Belarusian's first-round debut at Roland Garros.

Roger Federer is the man whose number of major titles Nadal wants to match, and the 39-year-old Swiss is missing with a knee injury.

Top seed Novak Djokovic takes on Sweden's Mikael Ymer in his opener and is in the same half of the draw as newly crowned US Open champion Dominic Thiem.

Third seed Thiem, who has lost back-to-back Roland Garros finals to Nadal, has drawn a dangerous floater among the non-seeded players in Croatia's former world number three Marin Cilic.

Serena Williams is another big name chasing history, going again for a 24th major to equal Margaret Court's long-standing record.

Williams, approaching her 39th birthday on Saturday, has been drawn against fellow American Kristie Ahn, whom she also faced in the US Open first round earlier this month.

Romania's Simona Halep is the women's top seed and backed up her tag as the favourite by winning the Italian Open this week.

Halep, who won her maiden major at Roland Garros in 2018, will face Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Elite sport will be expected to "look at ways in which it can support itself" through financial difficulties arising from the absence of fans, the UK sports minister has told Parliament.

Major governing bodies have warned of "profound" and "severe" consequences from the loss of matchday revenue.

The Premier League said clubs are losing £100m per month, the Rugby Football Union said it could lose £60m if there are no fans at the autumn internationals and Six Nations, and the England and Wales Cricket Board said it has already lost £100m because of coronavirus.

Premiership Rugby, which runs rugby union's top domestic competition in England, warned that the lack of supporters had the potential to cause "irreparable damage" to clubs and communities.

English Football League chairman Rick Parry told BBC Sport on Wednesday that he was "expecting" some sort of financial help from the government.

Sports Minister Huddleston also confirmed that non-elite sports, including football below National Leagues North and South, will be able to continue allowing spectators.

Meanwhile, the first meeting took place of an expert taskforce chaired by Carphone Warehouse co-founder David Ross and set up to explore "high-tech solutions" that would allow elite sports grounds to reopen.

The Sports Technology and Innovation Group is made up of sport, health and technology experts including the Premier League chair Gary Hoffman, and will be looking at the whole 'fan journey' from home to stadiums.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said its aim was to work through "innovative ideas and technology which could help get fans back where they belong, in stadia and grounds, more quickly".

Earlier, Damian Collins MP told the House of Commons that clubs were facing financial ruin, and asked what "guarantee" Huddleston could provide to Football League clubs, in light of the £1.5bn offered to arts organisations.

"We are in discussions with major sports, including football bodies," Huddleston said.

"Yesterday I wrote to the governing bodies of all major spectator sports to formally begin discussions and provide them with a contact point.

"I also asked the governing bodies to provide me with details of any member clubs or associations under imminent financial threat and we will be providing more information in due course."

He added: "We recognise the impact of the decisions this week to delay the reopening of stadia over the winter will have on sport.

"The government now will work at pace with sports to understand the issues faced by organisations facing the most challenging circumstances and assess what further support may be required."

Elite sports have been warned that they may be unable to have fans back for six months.

Huddleston said he was "unable" to give any prospective target dates for the return of fans, because of the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.

Joy Neville will become the first female television match official for a top-level men's rugby union Test when Wales face Georgia on 21 November.

The former Ireland captain has already refereed top-flight men's matches in European and Pro14 club competitions.

Meanwhile, Nigel Owens will become the first person to take charge of 100 Tests when France face Italy.

Both matches will be part of the Autumn Nations Cup, with France taking on Italy on 28 November.

Owens' first appointment of the competition will be at Twickenham on 14 November as England host Georgia.

"I hope it (100 games) will be achievable by the end of November," said Owens.

"It will be something special. It will be a great honour and one I am looking forward to. It was something I thought I might have reached last summer if things had not happened with the lockdown and Covid-19.

"I am looking forward to getting out there. I have not hung about just to get the 100. I am still here because I would like to think I am still capable of performing at the top of my game on the international stage."

The Rugby World Cup 2015 final referee will reach his milestone in Paris two weeks later, 17 years after his Test debut in February 2003 when he was in the middle for Portugal versus Georgia.

Elsewhere, former Harlequins scrum-half Karl Dickson - who is a regular official in the English Premiership - will take charge of his first major Test when France play Wales on 24 October.

Former Scotland sevens player Mike Adamson will referee his first major match when England face the Barbarians at Twickenham.

Rob Kearney has penned an emotional open letter after ending his time playing for Leinster and Ireland.

Kearney, 34, toured with the British and Irish Lions on two occasions.

"I have lived the dream of every five-year-old boy or girl out there that dreams of pulling on a Leinster jersey, an Ireland jersey, a Lions jersey," said Kearney.

Kearney was a regular for Ireland under Declan Kidney and Joe Schmidt, featuring in the Grand Slam winning teams of 2009 and 2018 along with the historic victories over New Zealand in 2016 and 2018.

He leaves Leinster as Ireland's most-decorated player, having won four Six Nations, four European Cups, six Pro 12/14 titles and one Challenge Cup, while he was also named the 2012 European Rugby Player of the year.

'I look forward to being a supporter'

Kearney's final Leinster appearance came in August's behind-closed-doors victory over Ulster at the Aviva Stadium in the Pro14 and he admits he missed the "greatest buzz" of playing in front of supporters before his departure.

Although he did not feature in the final, Kearney and fellow stalwart Fergus McFadden lifted the Pro14 trophy at the Aviva Stadium earlier in September.

"I consider myself very fortunate to have done the greatest thing that I could have done with my life and I have lived the dreams that I first had as a young lad in Dundalk RFC with the minis," added Kearney.

"The Leinster and Ireland supporters' role in this journey has been special and running out in front of full stadia is what gives the greatest buzz and we have all missed that over the last few months, and you appreciate it all the more now playing in empty arenas.

"I remember when we played away in Toulouse in the European quarter-final in 2006. Nobody gave us a chance but we came away with a win and played some unbelievable rugby along the way.

"It was the first time that I could sense the belief in the support as well. That trip home to Dublin and looking into the eyes of the supporters that had made the trip. Belief.

"For Ireland, the sea of green in Chicago and in Twickenham on St Patrick's Day for our Grand Slam decider are images that will be ingrained in me for life.

"The medals and what you achieve are great but they are just by-products of good culture, good people, and a relentless drive to do better. And we had that in spades in the teams I played with in Leinster and with Ireland.

"Thank you all once more and I look forward to being a supporter again, like I was as in Dundalk all those years ago."

GAFFNEY, S.C. – JD Motorsports with Gary Keller has announced that TikTok, the fastest-growing social media platform of the decade, will partner with Ryan Vargas for the remainder of the NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

Vargas has competed for JDM in three Xfinity Series races this season, with starts at Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway, Kansas Speedway, and Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

In 2019, he also made three starts with the team, including his series debut at Iowa Speedway before following up at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., and Arizona’s Phoenix Raceway – site of this year’s Xfinity Series championship race.

The newly-turned 20-year-old from La Mirada, Calif., has captured the hearts of many fans through social media engagement. As a member of the 2018-2019 NASCAR Next class, Vargas learned valuable skills on the business side of the sport, including relationship building and partnership acquisition.

Vargas is an alumnus of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program and won the prestigious Wendell Scott Trailblazer award, presented to an outstanding minority or female driver who displays exceptional on-track performance, sportsmanship, and community service.

“TikTok has provided me with an incredible outlet to reach new fans and demographics through fun and creative content, and I’ve seen the highest growth in followers on TikTok over my other social channels. The opportunity to run the No. 6 TikTok Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the rest of the season is an absolute dream come true,” said Vargas. “Johnny Davis and the whole JD Motorsports with Gary Keller team took a chance on me last year and I’m excited to bring this amazing TikTok partnership their way.

“I wouldn’t want to make this partnership a reality anywhere else.”

TikTok will back Vargas for the final six races of 2020, with events at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Oct. 3, Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., on Oct. 10, Kansas Speedway on Oct. 17, Texas Motor Speedway on Oct. 24, Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Oct. 31 and the season finale at Phoenix on Nov. 7.

The social media giant has gained a massive following with millennials and young adults through viral videos. Vargas has found great success on the platform as a content creator, so when the partnership opportunity presented itself, there was a natural fit.

“Creators of all sizes and backgrounds show up to TikTok with their genuine, authentic selves,” said Nick Tran, Head of Global Marketing at TikTok. “Partnering with an iconic brand like NASCAR to sponsor Ryan Vargas on his racing journey is a way for us to continue to support, celebrate and elevate the diverse creators that make our TikTok community what it is today.

“Ryan is an incredible athlete, and we’re looking forward to cheering him on alongside the rest of the TikTok community!”

DODGE CITY, Kan. – An era has come to an end at Dodge City Raceway Park, as Tommie Estes Jr. has elected to step down from his position as track manager and promoter at the three-eighths-mile clay oval in southwest Kansas.

After a revolving door of promoters at the state-of-the-art facility in its first decade as a dirt track, Estes Jr., assumed the role in 2011 soon after leaving his previous position as series coordinator with the American Sprint Car Series.

Estes Jr. has guided the DCRP facility for the past decade, establishing several notable events, including the DCRP Sprint Car Nationals, and creating the seventh-mile Little DCRP clay oval to provide a training ground for younger racers to develop their skills.

After the racing facility completed its final weekend of a condensed 2020 season on Sept. 19-20, Estes, Jr., announced the decision to resign from the position.

“The city of Dodge City offered to extend my contract for another three years, but I declined,” Estes Jr. explained. “I have enjoyed my 10 years at Dodge City Raceway Park and appreciate all the support from the fans, racers, staff and sponsors over the past ten years. I just felt that it was time for a change and time to explore some other opportunities.”

Estes Jr. finished out his tenure at Dodge City Raceway Park with this past weekend’s eighth annual Jerry Soderberg Memorial Championship event atop the three-eighths-mile clay oval, including the track’s championship races in five divisions.

Titlists were crowned in the Hambelton Racing DCRP Sprint Cars, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars and IMCA Hobby Stocks. Estes also oversaw Sunday’s Little DCRP season finale for Micro Sprints and Karts.

No immediate plans have been announced for the successor to Estes, Jr., at the Dodge City Raceway Park clay oval.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – To say NHRA rookie of the year frontrunner Justin Ashley is on a roll headed into the historic NHRA Gatornationals is a bit of an understatement.

The young driver of the Strutmasters.com Top Fuel dragster powered by Manscaped picked up his first win over Labor Day weekend at the rescheduled Summernationals, defeating TJ Zizzo.

Then on Sunday, he raced to a semifinal finish at the U.S. Nationals in one of the wildest elimination rounds in recent history.

This weekend, Ashley returns to Gainesville Raceway, looking for his second Top Fuel win at a facility he already has a win in Top Alcohol Dragster competition from 2017.

“We had an amazing weekend in Indianapolis with the Strutmasters.com powered by MANSCAPED Top Fuel team,” said Ashley, who moved up to fourth place in the Top Fuel points. “It was such an exciting moment to see all the hard work these guys have put in pay off getting that first win. We had to wait a while but it was worth it. TJ (Zizzo) is a great competitor and I know he will get wins down the road.

“I was just glad to share that win with my dad (Mike Ashley) and all the people that have supported us with Davis Motorsports and sponsors like SanIt, Guard Lab and of course Strutmasters.com and Manscaped.”

While the win was significant, Ashley’s first race day as a Top Fuel pilot at the U.S. Nationals will be talked about for years to come.

He grabbed an upset win over No. 4 qualifier Billy Torrence in the first round and then took out Mello Yello Top Fuel point leader Doug Kalitta in the quarterfinals. Ashley’s skill on the starting line was the difference in advancing him to a semifinal match-up with Kalitta’s teammate Shawn Langdon.

Both dragsters launched together and then almost simultaneously went into severe tire smoke. Each driver was on and off the throttle battling their race cars for control and momentum as they lurched towards the finish line.

Ashley at one point had his nearly 30-foot-long dragster sideways in his lane before he succumbed to Langdon’s winning time.

“That was a wild ride,” explained Ashley after the run. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. That was the first time that I have really had to pedal my dragster. I was just doing everything I could to try and get it to hook up so we could get that win. Shawn is a tough competitor and I knew he had his hands full also.

“That was a race I won’t ever forget. Even though I didn’t get the win light I learned a ton about controlling this 11,000 horsepower dragster.”

The Gatornationals is another historic race on the NHRA tour, traditionally contested in March, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic was rescheduled for late September.

The change of season should not affect the team, and Ashley is eager to get another win at Gainesville Raceway. In 2017 Ashley, at his first national event, picked up his first Top Alcohol Dragster win over Rich McPhillips.

In that race Ashley had to chase down McPhillips for the win.

“I remember that first win in Gainesville so well. It was my first national event in Top Alcohol Dragster and we raced to the final and the win. I would love to get another Gatornationals win,” added Ashley. “This track has so much history to add my name to the list of Top Fuel winners would be amazing. This team has been preparing for this race since we left the U.S. Nationals and we have a lot of confidence.

“I think we can make a run for the championship as long as we keep working hard.”

STATESVILLE, N.C. – On the heels of an impressive first at Bristol Motor Speedway, Carson Hocevar and Niece Motorsports have announced that Hocevar will compete full time for Niece Motorsports next year in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.

“I’m so excited to get the opportunity to race full time next year with the Niece Motorsports group,” said Hocevar. “We’ve had some really strong runs in the few starts that we’ve had this season and I am grateful for the chance to continue that next year. I’ve learned so much already this year and know that we will keep improving next year too.”

To date, Hocevar has made five starts this season with the team. The young driver has shown an impressive ability to maneuver some of the toughest short tracks on the circuit, with his best finish of 12th coming at Dover (Del.) Int’l Speedway.

“Carson has really impressed us this season,” said team owner Al Niece. “He’s proven his talent – getting into the truck with no track time and really holding his own. We’re thrilled to have him with us fulltime next season and look forward to contending for wins together.”

Hocevar has also driven his family-owned No. 14 GM Parts Now, Precision Fleet Image super late model to five victories in keystone events across the country in 2020.

In addition to races at Bristol and Darlington, Hocevar has also raced at the Daytona Int’l Speedway road course, Gateway Motorsports Park and Richmond (Va.) Raceway this season for Niece Motorsports.

“As an organization we’ve been really impressed with Carson’s ability to race at these tracks that he hasn’t seen before, with no track time before the race,” said general manager Cody Efaw.  “He’s a great racer and continues to learn and improve every time he gets behind the wheel.  We have no doubt that Carson will be in contention for wins next year.”

PLACERVILLE, Calif. – As the Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100 enters its second season, event officials have announced that the California Lightning Sprints and BCRA Midget Lites have been added as the companion class for the three-night show Nov. 19-21.

Keeping with the traditional aspect of the event, the Lightning Sprints and Midget Lites will run wingless at the Hangtown 100. The division will get a couple of warmups at the Placerville Speedway, coming up first with wings on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Following that on Saturday, Oct. 10, they will then shed the tops and compete wingless during the evening for a true test-and-tune. That night will also include the USAC Western States Midgets and the USAC West Coast Wingless 360 Sprints.

“We look forward to welcoming the California Lightning Sprints and BCRA Midget Lites to the Hangtown 100 this season,” said Elk Grove Ford President Matt Wood. “With it also being one of the biggest USAC Midget events of the season we wanted to keep it in line with that and have them run without the wings, which we feel will be exciting. There’s been a solid interest from the Lightning Sprint and Midget Lite teams so it should be a great show to compliment our Midget portion.”

Teams are encouraged to register online for the Elk Grove Hangtown 100. Visit https://www.hangtown100.com/register-online and fill out the online registration form.

For any multi-car teams competing, e-mail Matt Wood at [email protected] so proper accommodations can be made. List trailer length, number of cars and if you wish to park next to anyone.

A parking plan is being put in place and a map is being formulated, therefore the sooner event officials can acquire info, the better.

The Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100 marks the second ever appearance by the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series to Placerville Speedway. Updates on the event will continue as soon as they become available.

The expanded three-night event, co-sanctioned with the USAC Western States Midgets, will utilize a modified Trophy Cup style format, featuring larger than normal inverts.